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Business Coach Explains Leadership

In this transcript with business coach Clay Clark (US Small Business Administration Entrepreneur of the Year), Clay Staires (The Millionaire School Teacher and school teacher) discusses customer service training and leadership on Thrive15.com.

Clay Clark: Now, this is what’s amazing statistics here. Forbes Magazine, which is a great resource for a business coach, is showing that … This is a March 11th article in 2013, US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that more than 2 million Americans are voluntarily leaving their jobs every month. Really what they say, it all comes down to poor leadership. I mean, people are literally leaving their jobs because we’re like, “I’m in a company, there’s no leadership, no one has a plan. I’m going to move on.” There’s 2 million people and a recession, where people are having a hard time finding jobs. There’s 2 million Americans who are going, “I’m out of here.”

Point #6 here. This is, again, these attributes, these 11 attributes that we have to have if we want to become a leader, this one is a big one. The habit of doing more than paid for.

Now, a confession here. I have learned this process to the point where it’s become an unhealthy thing because when you do the habit of doing more than paid for, it is amazing what we’ll happen. It creates the cycle of upward mobility. If I have a client, let’s say, here and I charge the client $10 to do X, Y and Z, and then I also throw in the bonus of A, B, C, this guy can help but tell another client about what’s going on because he got all this free stuff. He tells him, “Hey, you should use this guy.” It just keeps coming back to me over and over and over. It just keeps growing as far as if you’re working with the organization who maybe hasn’t … I think, recently, I know you’re working with a big sales organization.

Clay Staires: Yes.

Clay Clark: They’re trying to convince these people on a salary to do more than paid for. How do you work with people like that? Or how do you try to teach the concept of doing more than paid for?

Clay Staires: It is very difficult in that salaried and business coach world to encourage and inspire people to do more than what they’re paid for because, again, they’re in this mindset, what we were talking about a little bit ago, they’re in this mindset of “I will come and work for you. I will put in hours if you give me a certain amount of money. If you’re not going to give me a certain amount of money, then I’m going to push back and not do a certain amount of hours.”

Clay Clark: Why is it so important for a leader or business coach to do more than is paid for?

Clay Staires: Exactly because again, it sets as an example. If you want to inspire, if you want to lead, the classic thing, you can’t lead where you won’t go. You can talk about it, you can point, but you can’t lead unless you’re there. You can’t teach what you don’t know. We as leaders, so often, as we want more responsibility, we want to have this influence over people. Then, when all of a sudden, things begin to happen and are difficult in our life, we get mad, we get frustrated, we start blaming people, but really, Clay, the whole idea there is life is preparing us to lead. You can’t lead where you won’t go.

Clay Clark: I had this epiphany here when you were talking about this. You were saying-

Clay Staires: It happens often.

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Clay Clark: You can’t lead where you won’t go. You’re saying like if you’re yelling at your guys to get up for the top of this mountain, but you won’t go, it’s hard to get them to go there.

Clay Clark: For you, as you’ve made the jump to self employment, is there any tricks you do to try to wow event planners or wow customers, or anything you do to try to go over and above what they expect? I mean, is there any rules you have in place?

Clay Staires: Definitely, yes. What is it, the classic, you under promise and over deliver. I will bring more to the table. I asked them, “Hey, are you having any problems with getting your event going? Is there anything I can do to help you? How can I make your job easier?” as opposed to, “Yeah, I’ll just come and speak at your event. How can I make your job as an event planner easier?” Just did that the other day with a gal.

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Clay Clark: When I first learned this, I remember I was building the DJ company. I was trying to think, “How can I do this?” Lori Montag, who is the lady who started the Zanybandz and the SLAP watch, she said, “Clay, after every wedding, when the bride and the groom get home to their house, if you’ll just send them a gift card that says “Thank you for allowing us to provide entertainment for your wedding, and we appreciate the opportunity. It’s just one more way to have … For us to celebrate your marriage, we’d like to give you 2 free movie passes on us.” Every time I would do it, at first I thought, “Whatever, I’m going to have to spend $20 per bride on this.”

I start sending these movie passes out and brides are telling 3, 4, 5 friends, “Hey, this DJ company did a great job. Then, after the wedding, they sent a handwritten note. A couple of weeks later, they sent these. I started discovering these $20 movie tickets, they’re actually $10 movie tickets, they were turning in to $600 referrals.

Clay Staires: Wow.

Clay Clark: It’s unbelievable. Today, as a business coach, I always try to think about whatever I promise to do just 1 one step more. It really does work, though.

Clay Staires: Yeah, I find myself I’d make follow-up phone calls after every event that I go speak to another business coach.

Clay Clark: Right now, I mean, even though you’ve had a lot of success, you still are trying to wow the event planners?

Clay Staires: Yeah, because I have success because I wowed. If you stop wowing, you can see where that equation is going.